I have just come down with a cold - my third this year as well as having the flu earlier in the year.

It seems ridiculously frequent and I'm sure I never used to get them this often. I recovered well from the flu but the colds seem to linger more now too. Not good for my upcoming birthday!

I just feel it's a bit weird. I've been vegan for nearly 8 years but didn't pay much attention to nutrition before but recently I've been eating healthier than ever so I don't understand why I keep getting colds while others around me don't. Is there something I could be missing?

Does anyone know what foods can help the body fight off viruses, if any, or is it something not preventable by diet?

Hi madeleine, i think it's just bad luck, i had a few colds this year, whereas last year and the year before i didnt have any noticable ones

Usually when i get a cold, i try to eat as much fresh fruit, especially containing vitamin C as i can, also try to eat as much raw food as i can with the most micronutrients, like spinach, brocolli, celery, just general raw fruits and vegetables- i think vitamin c has some sort of properties that help fight cold and stuff, i'm not sure

but yeah, there really is no way to prevent getting one, unless you've had it before, a good diet can certainly limit the duration and severity

other things (i believe) a good (vegan or otherwise) diet really helps with is headaches, and puking sickness, i havent had either of these since i went vegetarian over 10 years ago while the people around me have these all the time

summary: to prevent a cold, wash hands regularly, whenever you touch people, things that get touched alot, especially in cold/flu season, to help once you have a cold, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water

Thanks. It's interesting to know you've had a similar experience with regards to getting colds so maybe it wasn't preventable and not going to be the same forever.

I've just realised though that I have been doing something differently. I used to have a full glass of orange juice every morning but stopped due to concerns about its high sugar content. I wonder if this change in the consistency of my vitamin C intake could have that much effect. Perhaps I'll start having it again but up my fibre intake.

I'm someone who is quite excessive about washing hands. My boyfriend tells me I'm too hygienic and that's why I'm more susceptible but I don't know; I feel I'm washing all the bad stuff away and he isn't. I don't like that he is less clean than I think he should be but he does get less colds and eats pretty much the same as me. Hmm...

yeah, there really isnt much you can do about it other than washing hands, once the virus makes contact with your body, it's then a matter of, can my immune system deal with it, by having had this cold before, and if not, i have a cold

also, you might consider eating oranges rather than juice, i like juice also, but if you're watching your calories, an orange will have some fiber and other stuff that's removed when it's juiced, will also be less concentrated, and have no preservatives/added sugaralot of orange juices are also reconstituted/ concentrated and stuff which will also drive up calories

I didn't read the other posts sorry but here's just a bit of input from me.

The problem with a lot of vegans, especially on FoK's facebook and the vbb facebook group is that they seem to think that just because they're vegan they are suddenly immune to all ill health and are invincible. Not saying that's the case with you btw.. But this misinformation does circulate and people think they just won't get ill.I don't get ill that frequently and that hasn't changed since becoming vegan, so it just sounds like bad luck to me! Anyway I hope you get better and everything gets sorted out my friend

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